Reality As We Know It
by Lian Ryu
Summary: What if the cast of YYH didn't know They were the YYH cast? What if their special talents were needed but were still locked away? Give this fic a shot to find out!
1. The Beginning

Hello there! I want to say thank you for giving my fic a shot and I hope you'll enjoy it enough to write a review and stick with me for later chapters. In this first chapter The YYh cast doesn't show but in the next and so on they show up in a hurry! This is an AU so please remember that. Thank you and continue on!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH   
  
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The Beginning  
  
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Sighing I trudged upstairs towards my apartment after a long day at work. All I wanted to do once I got through that door was collapse into my inviting bed and blank out the rest of the world with its pesky problems. As I stood in the hallway searching for my keys I realized that I still had laundry to do.   
  
"Well this day couldn't get any better" I thought as I went through the now open doorway.  
  
I started to walk into the room while reaching for the light switch when the sound of glass crunching underfoot alerted me that my day from hell was not quite finished…  
  
Before I could back out to the safety of the hallway behind me, someone grabbed my wrist and yanked me forward into the pitch black room. Doing what any self preserving female would do I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran my nails across the hand that tried to hold onto me. As soon as I felt my attacker's grip loosen I twisted my wrist and flung myself towards my still open door.  
  
*SLAM*  
  
"Damn… he has a partner" was all my mind could think at that moment when the pale square of the open doorway disappeared. I spun around hoping that my eyes had adjusted enough to the pale moonlight that filtered throughout my apartment to at least let me see shadows of my assailants.  
  
"There!" A flicker of movement off to my left caused me to snap out my left leg into a hopefully wicked side kick. Feeling a solid impact and a pained grunt coming from my side made me grin a bit feral in the moonlight.  
  
  
  
"Helpless female my perky rear end" I thought viciously as I stepped forward to give another kick to the shadowy form before me. That was my plan until a glancing blow to the side of my head spun me around to hit the wall by my side.  
  
I was stunned for a few seconds but seeing the two shadowy forms closing in on me I once again gave a bloodcurdling scream to alert my neighbors that yes, I still needed help, and hopefully to give the bad guys a little pause for thought.  
  
As the two lunged for me I ducked down a bit and scrambled almost on all fours off to my right trying to get to my bedroom since they were blocking the front door. I had barely taken a few jerky steps when I felt a rough hand encase my ankle and yank me off my feet. I landed on the floor with a painful thud that almost left me breathless. I quickly lost what breath I had left when one of the jerks gave a vicious kick to my right side. I gasped as pain blossomed in my ribcage as the other form grabbed my right arm hauling me up and I guess to his head height since I suddenly felt hot breathing on my face.  
  
Feeling incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid, I coughed out "You know I have tic-tacs in the kitchen. It's a good possibility that you should get one if this will continue on tonight."  
  
With a guttural growl my captor flung me away and I crashed into the side table just under my living room window causing it to snap in half and dump all my papers around me. My head cracked against the wall and I fuzzily thought "Owie…that was going to leave a mark in the morning."  
  
"Quit playing around and just knock her out" A rough voice said as once again the two shadows moved as one towards me.  
  
"She kicked me!" a slightly higher but no less rougher voice whined.  
  
"Yeah and she scratched the hell out of my hand, your point would be?"  
  
High voice sounded sulky as he said "fine, but I get to knock her out."  
  
Low voice sighed saying "whatever…"  
  
As they approached me my out flung hand fluttered over a long slim shape and I realized that my silver dagger that had been on the side table was now in my grasp. With a snarl I lashed out with the sharp object and knew I had hit when one of the guys gave a pained cry and stumbled back.  
  
"What the hell just happened!?"  
  
"The little bitch has a knife!" High voice whined.  
  
"Che, then I guess we'll just have to knock her out as soon as possible."  
  
Just as the two forms were coming towards me again a loud pounding came from my door.  
  
"Lian! Lian! It's me Allen! Are you all-right?"  
  
Taking as deep a breath as my sore chest would let me I screamed "Allen help me!"  
  
As the pounding came again with more force behind it I cast a fearful glance at the two forms beside me. As I was about to try another swipe at them we all turned our heads to the sound of sirens coming down the street.  
  
"What are we supposed to do now?"  
  
"There's no helping it… We're just going to have to get out of here."  
  
"But the boss said he wanted her tonight."  
  
My eyes began to widen as the two had their hurried conversation. Just what the blazons was going on here? This wasn't just a simple burglary gone wrong, this was supposed to be a kidnapping! I frantically thought in my mind about why would anyone want to get a hold on me but nothing came up. I wasn't rich, I had no connections to anyone powerful, and I knew all my family and with no one dead there was nothing I could inherit.  
  
Suddenly my door flew open with a crash as Allen burst into my apartment. My two assailants quickly ran past me and burst through my windows scattering shard of glass over my prone form.  
  
I let out a gasp of shock as the full moon outside briefly illuminated the two. It just wasn't possible…  
  
I barely felt it when Allen came crunching over the glass shards to my side. I still didn't really register anything when he began shaking me and asking if I was all-right. All I could do was stare at my window in shock at what I had just seen.  
  
Two officers quickly came through my door and one had the sense of mind to turn on my forgotten light. I blinked slowly at the sudden light that assailed my senses but still my gaze was riveted to the broken windows before me.  
  
When the police began asking Allen if he had seen them I knew right then he hadn't. I don't think anyone would've been exactly calm after seeing a pair of demons.  
  
As if in slow motion I replayed how the two looked as they finally came into the moonlight and just before they went through my windows. One of them had dark blue skin with reddish eyes and long black claws. The other was reddish skinned with golden eyes and had three small black horns along with his claws. I wanted to believe that it was all stage make-up but the chill little ball in the pit of my stomach told me other wise.  
  
You know how sometimes you just get a gut feeling on something and when you follow it you feel a little surprised when it comes true? I never have that feeling of surprise because I know that what my instincts tell me is always true. Unfortunately what my instincts are telling me is that this is just the tip of the iceberg and it's melting pretty damn fast…  
  
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Hello there! I know I haven't gotten to the YYH cast yet but believe me they show up in a hurry in the next chapter. Please let me know what you think so I can create a better story for you. Thanks for reading! 


	2. More Questions, Not Enough Answers

Hello there, I hope you will like this story as it continues on. From here on out the writing will be in third person style, unlike the previous chapter which was in a first person style. I tried writing this in first person perspective and it didn't seem quite right. Anyways thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you stick with me.  
  
Disclaimer: No I don't own the YYH cast but I do own Lian and Allen. Hands off Lian unless you ask since I've been developing her for over 5 years now.  
  
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Recap:  
  
You know how sometimes you just get a gut feeling on something and when you follow it you feel a little surprised when it comes true? I never have that feeling of surprise because I know that what my instincts tell me is always true. Unfortunately what my instincts are telling me is that this is just the tip of the iceberg and it's melting pretty damn fast…  
  
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More Questions, Not Enough Answers  
  
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Finally all the voices that were filtering around Lian's apartment began to invade her clouded mind. Still slightly in shock to see demons in the real world the young woman looked up to the officers that were watching her over Allen's shoulder. Lian's eyes widened as she took in their appearance and apparently at that point her poor brain couldn't take anymore surprises and just overloaded.  
  
Giving a silly giggle she said "Hey Allen, look it's Yusuke and Kuwabara, maybe they could help with the demons" then proceeded to black out.   
  
With the last of Lian's consciousness slipping rapidly she could just hear the ebony haired guy, who she had dubbed Yusuke, say "How did she know our names?"  
  
Hours later at the precinct, Shuichi could tell it was going to be one of those days as soon as he walked into the building for his shift that day. The red-head winced as he could hear Yusuke's voice bellowing from the direction of chief Koenma's office. Sighing Shuichi decided to bite the bullet and let his curiosity get filled by walking over to a place closer to the open office door.  
  
"Damn it chief! There is something really wrong with this case! When we searched the girl's apartment all we saw was the signs of a forced entry with the struggle between her and those two guys. The rest of her place didn't have a single sign of being searched which, by the way, it should have if they had been there to rob the place" Yusuke growled.  
  
Shuichi eyebrows rose at the information he was hearing on this new case. Things just might become a little interesting around here. Shuichi could've sworn his eyebrows were about to hit his hair line as Kuwabara began to speak.  
  
"Chief, what Yusuke said was true, and also there were signs that they had both been just sitting in her room waiting while not touching anything. Also there is that strange comment about demons just before she passed out, something just isn't right here."  
  
Being daring about being caught, Shuichi peered through an open slat in the window blinds just in time to see Koenma rub his forehead as if tired.   
  
In a moment Koenma said "Look I think something about this case doesn't fit as well but until the girl wakes up there is absolutely nothing we can do. Also I think we should worry about how she knew your names. Are you two sure that you've never met her before tonight?"  
  
Bright green eyes narrowed in thought as the two mutely shook their heads in a negative manner. After a minute or so of silence it seemed that Koenma had finally come to a decision.  
  
"Yusuke, Kuwabara, I want you two to team up with Shuichi and watch this girl." Koenma gave another tired sigh "I have a feeling that this is far from over. Also Shuichi will be the one to question her. He has a more, shall we say, delicate interviewing style."  
  
Hearing this Shuichi quickly walked over to his desk and shook the mouse so the screen-saver disappeared. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Yusuke and Kuwabara filed out of the office to head his way.  
  
  
  
Shuichi watched the two out of the corner of his eye as they came towards his desk. Surprise kept his curiosity in check as he could see that for once Yusuke was deep in thought instead of yelling about how lame a case this was. Something about this whole deal had touched something inside Yusuke and soon the elder officer was becoming impatient at how much time they were taking to get to his desk.  
  
Shuichi" Yusuke said slowly "we've got a new case."  
  
With a nod Shuichi got up from his chair letting the two know that he was ready to go now. Yusuke didn't even spare him a second glance but Kuwabara raised one eyebrow and looked at the chief's still open door and back to his long haired partner with a slight smirk on his lips.   
  
"Damn his strange abilities…" Shuichi knew that Kuwabara figured he had heard everything and if Shuichi didn't step lightly he was going to get an earful of nagging from an irate Yusuke.  
  
The three of them walked to an unmarked car and Kuwabara steered a still bemusing Yusuke to the passenger side instead of the driver side. Now Shuichi knew there was something up with the black haired officer. Yusuke never let anyone else drive if he was going to be in the car. Shuichi raised an inquiring eye to Kuwabara who in turn just shrugged showing he had no clue to the strange behavior either. Sighing he decided to just let things be for now and stared out the window to gaze at the passing scenery.  
  
Half an hour later they were at the hospital and Shuichi was relived that soon we were going to get some answers. The three of them stepped into the chilled building as Shuichi took charge and led them all up to the front desk. Showing their badges the lead officer inquired where he might find Lian Leviathan's room.  
  
To his surprise the nurse gave a rueful grin while saying "Lian? Just follow the noise until you reach her floor." The woman then shook her head "there is always something going on around that girl."  
  
Blinking the confused red-head said "I'm sorry, but could you be a little more specific?"  
  
As if coming out of a deep sleep Yusuke added "a floor number along with the room just might be helpful."  
  
Shuichi gave a mental sigh as he saw the slight hardening of the woman's eyes as she glared at Yusuke.  
  
"Second floor, room 258."  
  
Giving the ruffled nurse one of his more charming smiles Shuichi gave his thanks and the three of them proceeded to the elevators. He watched the other two people with him and saw that once again Yusuke seemed thoughtful and that Kuwabara now joined him in the somewhat melancholy state. It gave him slight chills to see the two of them so abnormally quiet.  
  
Of course that quiet was broken as soon as they stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway.  
  
As the three detectives stepped past the elevator doors they were almost run down by a tall man with long blonde hair in a low ponytail and laughing green eyes. Of course that was nothing in comparison to what happened seconds later after the blonde had whizzed by them…  
  
"Allen you jerk!" a feminine voice yelled "if you don't give me back my gameboy I swear when I get back home I'll wake you up for the next two weeks with buckets of ice water!"  
  
Since Shuichi was in the lead he was able to catch sight of a young woman with long brown hair, silver bangs trailing down the sides of her face, and stormy green eyes go racing after the man from a few seconds ago.  
  
All three men had to admire the flash of long slim legs as the young woman zipped by them in a hospital gown that did little to hide her form.   
  
The astonished detectives watched as the girl gave a flying tackle that hit the blonde from behind and slammed him into the ground at the feet of a very irate looking nurse.  
  
The young woman, oblivious to her audience, managed to flip the guy over without releasing him and started to shake him by the collar.  
  
"Allen, give me my gameboy! It's the only thing left that is keeping me sane in this prison!"   
  
The three men filed up behind the two with amusement flashing in their eyes at the comical display that was happening before them.  
  
The nurse's eye began to twitch as the girl continued to berate the man beneath her until said nurse barked "Miss Leviathan!"  
  
The amused officers watched as apparently Lian Leviathan snapped her head up to stare guiltily at the scowling woman in white before her.  
  
Scrambling up the Leviathan girl pointed to the man still on the floor saying "err, hi Kaoru… I'm sorry but he took my gameboy!"  
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sighed "Lian how many times have I told you not to create a spectacle around here? You know the children like you and may even try to copy you, Again." Then, turning her glaring blue eyes to the grinning man on the floor, Kaoru continued "As for you Allen Thanatos, I thought you would've learned by now not to aggravate her. Lian is still injured you know."  
  
Allen stood up and dusted himself off saying "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it."  
  
Sidling over to Lian's side he pinched her cheek saying "she's just so cute when she gets riled up and just sitting in her room pouting did not seem right."  
  
"Allen I swear-"Lian began to say as she lunged for the already dodging man, that was until she gave a painful gasp clutching one arm to her chest.  
  
Shuichi quickly went to Lian's side before she stumbled to the floor in pain as a worried Allen fluttered beside her.  
  
"Oh gods Lian, I am so sorry!" Allen said softly as he laid one hand on her arm.  
  
Lian gave a strained smile saying "it's all-right Allen." She then looked up to the nurse above them saying "I guess karma decided to let me know I was pushing my limits, eh?"  
  
Kaoru smiled "I think it's a good sign for you to settle down and get back to your room."  
  
Shuichi smiled at the young woman he was holding onto as she rolled her eyes and gave a dramatic sigh. He watched as Allen smirked at Lian and she in turn glared at him. With all the gaiety going on Shuichi was startled when Allen turned to face him and froze in what seemed to be shock.  
  
Seeing Allen's face, Lian looked up at the man holding her and she too got the shock of her life.  
  
Seeing the look on Allen's face she had turned her gaze to see what the problem was and just froze. "This could not be happening" Lian thought. The gentleman holding her looked just like Shuichi… or Kurama, however you wanted to call him, from the anime called Yu Yu Hakusho. Same facial structure, same green eyes, and same long red hair.   
  
"Ok it's official; yes the world is out to drive me nuts" Lian muttered; but her mental rambling to herself didn't just stop there. "I mean it's not everyday that a person gets attacked by demons who want to kidnap you for some boss with no reason what so ever to do so. Then to add insult to injury I have people who look exactly like the characters from an anime that deals with said demon types show up as the officers to work on my case." She decided right then and there that she couldn't take this anymore. Lian was going to go back to her room, burrow into the bed and the world could just go to hell in a hand basket for all she cared.  
  
Shuichi watched Lian's eyes as they went from shock, to disbelief, to a blankness that made him want to shake her until some type of life came back into the silver flecked green eyes.  
  
He was forced to let her go as she gently disengaged herself from his hold and watched as she turned to Allen with that horrible blank look to her gaze. He seemed a little stressed himself but not on the verge of a breakdown like Lian obviously was. The puzzled officer just could not figure out what he had done to cause such a reaction from her. At the sound of shuffling behind him Shuichi turned to see Yusuke and Kuwabara giving him inquiring looks. He shrugged and shook his head to show that he had about as much as a clue as they did about her strange reactions to them all.  
  
  
  
Allen watched as his friend closed herself off and began walking back to her room. "Lian-" he began to say with one arm outstretched reaching for her.  
  
  
  
Then to everyone's surprise Lian whirled around screaming "No! I am normal so just leave me alone!" then take off running to her room.  
  
  
  
The four men stood there stunned at the outburst until Allen swore and punched the wall beside him. What caused everyone's eyes to widen was there was now a fair sized hole in the wall where Allen had smacked his fist.  
  
  
  
"She shouldn't be going through all this" Allen growled as he stalked off after Lian, completely ignoring the looks he received from the police and one shocked nurse.  
  
  
  
Shuichi looked to his fellow detectives, they nodded, and soon they were following just behind Allen's stormy figure.   
  
As she stumbled back to her room Lian began to think furiously to herself "I'll admit it, I was scared. I somewhat know why this mysterious boss wants me but if I'm right I am so not about to tell that to the detectives who are here." Giving a mental snort she continued "hell I'm not even going to tell Allen why…"  
  
"Cops meant questions, questions meant giving information, or them squirreling it out, and I can not afford the details that I would have to give them to make them understand."  
  
Lian remembered her parting shot of how she was normal and wished it was so. She shook her head, "I had asked for power and I got it so there was to be no complaining from my corner. Actually I hadn't asked for it, I had just invited it." She snorted at the memory about how it had all come about. One day she decided she wanted to believe in something, you know like a God or something like that. Going through many religions, not a one seemed right for her and she soon realized why. Each of those religions said they had a powerful god or goddess but never said where they got the power from. Sure there was all this 'it comes from within and stuff like that but hey, even that power has to come from somewhere. That point is when her life took a huge about face."  
  
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Okay people, please let me know if I should continue this series or not. If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me or have your questions in a review. 


	3. Time Is Running Out

RECAP:  
  
Lian remembered her parting shot of how she was normal and wished it was so. She shook her head, "I had asked for power and I got it so there was to be no complaining from my corner. Actually I hadn't asked for it, I had just invited it." She snorted at the memory about how it had all come about. One day she decided she wanted to believe in something, you know like a God or something like that. Going through many religions, not a one seemed right for her and she soon realized why. Each of those religions said they had a powerful god or goddess but never said where they got the power from. Sure there was all this 'it comes from within and stuff like that but hey, even that power has to come from somewhere. That point is when her life took a huge about face."  
  
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Time Is Running Out…  
  
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Lian crossed her room over to her bed flung up the covers and then promptly buried herself in them. Giving a mental snort Lian thought "normal? Oh yeah it's normal to be able to make things appear out of thin air. It was 'Normal' to be able to have a semi coherent conversation with the power of everything living! It was bleeding NORMAL to suddenly have demon's chasing you and the people from one of your favorite animes to come help rescue you!"  
  
  
  
Lian winced as her mental shouting began to get a little loud even for her mind. She found it was a good thing that her mental ranting had shut itself off or she wouldn't have heard the door to her hospital room opening and a minute or so later, closing.  
  
  
  
Feeling the presence of the officers from earlier in her room along with Allen, Lian just grabbed the top of the blankets at her head and then proceeded to roll up into a little ball just like a pill bug, potato bug… whatever those little ugly gray bugs that rolled into a ball when touched were called.  
  
  
  
She heard Allen's muffled steps come closer and when she felt him poke her in the side the young woman somehow found a way to curl up even tighter.  
  
The slightly mystified voice of Yusuke managed to reach Lian's ears as she heard him say "how in the world can she get that small?"  
  
Seconds later she heard Allen snort as he replied "I could care less about how she curled up so well, I'm more worried about if she can actually breathe in the middle of all that."  
  
Four pairs of eyes focused on the tightly wound ball of blankets as a muffled sarcastic voice said "of course I can breathe, you think I want to give those jerks who are after me a hand?"  
  
As Yusuke was about to give a sarcastic remark back a loud clap of thunder rumbled overhead and a brilliant flash of light lit up the room brighter than before. All the men in the room jumped at the clamor, and then they jumped again when the mass of blankets flew into the air as Lian leaped out of bed towards her window. The three officers watched as Allen got a nervous look on his face while the grin on Lian's face got wider.  
  
"Lian" Allen began to say with a warning note "we just went through this a day or two ago…"  
  
At the sound of the young man's voice Lian's head drooped a bit as if in defeat "Yeah, I guess your right Allen."  
  
While Yusuke's and Kuwabara's focus was settled on Allen, Shuichi's was centered on Lian so he saw the gleam in her eye as she slowly walked past Allen towards her bed. Shuichi raised one eyebrow skeptically at Lian's subdued behavior and began to wonder what the little vixen was up to. Shuichi's curious side got to the better of him so he decided to distract Allen long enough to find out just what was going on.  
  
"If I may ask, just what happened a while ago?"  
  
Allen turned to the red-haired man to answer and in that moment that was all Lian needed. In time with the next lightning flash, Lian blazed by Allen and out the door. As she passed by Shuichi she gave a quick grin and a saucy wink.  
  
  
  
With a quick shout of "Lian!" and a number of expletives after it Allen tore by the officers hot on Lian's tracks. Shuichi didn't know why but he felt his blood began to heat up as he thought of giving chase to the two.  
  
  
  
"It's like a game of tag or something" he thought "besides she was their case and he had to make sure nothing happened to her, right?" With a quick grin very unlike himself Shuichi ran after Allen. In seconds Yusuke and Kuwabara followed behind them all.  
  
  
  
Much to the officer's surprise they soon caught up with the other two even though the other two had had a good running start.  
  
  
  
"Che, nothing is starting to make sense anymore" Yusuke thought as he soon realized his new speed. "As soon as Kuwabara and I took this case to Koenma, things have started to go a little strange."  
  
  
  
Looking over to his taller companion Yusuke saw bewilderment in Kuwabara's eyes as well. "Even brick boy over there knows something is up."  
  
  
  
Suddenly everyone stopped as they saw Lian's way blocked by five nurses at the other end of the hallway, with Kaoru in the lead. There was a moment of silence as all watched to see what Lian would do.  
  
  
  
Staring silently at the nurses before her, Lian gave a belligerent toss of her head while swiping one foot on the floor in such a manner that it reminded Shuichi of a wild mare showing her defiance.  
  
  
  
Keeping that analogy in mind Shuichi spread his arms a bit as he slowly walked towards Lian saying "Ms. Leviathan…" he began.  
  
  
  
Lian's focus quickly turned from the white uniform brigade in front of her to Shuichi's slowly moving form behind her. Lian gave another toss of her hair and looked to the slightly open window behind her. Shuichi stared into her forest green eyes that he now saw were flecked with bits of silver. Lian gave the window a look and a shudder while wrapping one arm around her injured ribs.  
  
  
  
"Ms. Leviathan…" Shuichi began again until Lian interrupted him with a rude snort.  
  
  
  
"My name is Lian. Every time you say Ms. Leviathan I want to look for my mother."  
  
  
  
Still slowly inching his way towards the young woman Shuichi smiled at her quip then began to speak yet again "very well Lian, what is it you're going to do that seems to have everyone in such an uproar?"  
  
  
  
Lian hung her head but Shuichi was not fooled into thinking that she was unaware of them. Sure enough when Yusuke began to walk forward with impatience Lian tensed up and edged a bit more towards the window.  
  
  
  
Just as Shuichi was about to yell at his idiot partner, Kuwabara surprisingly beat him to the punch "Yusuke what the hell do you think you're doing!?"  
  
  
  
Yusuke just gave them all a withering glare and turned once again towards Lian "all right move it."  
  
While everyone gave him a bewildering look Yusuke actually stomped by Lian and made a hole in the wall of nurses. Yusuke watched silently as understanding dawned in Lian's eyes and he continued his silent appraisal as the young woman swept by him leaving the sent of a dense forest behind. The glare Yusuke then gave everyone who began protesting his actions immediately shut them up.  
  
"If all of you hadn't been so busy to try and restrain her you would've noticed that Lian was more willing to jump out that window than be caught at this moment. Now before anyone has anything else to say why don't we all go see what she's up to?"  
  
With that little speech said, Yusuke proceeded to go down the same hall that Lian had just vacated seconds before, with all the nurses trailing behind him.  
  
Allen was about to follow when he saw Shuichi and Kuwabara standing in the hall as if they had been hit with one of the lightning bolts that were flashing outside.   
  
With puzzlement in his eyes Allen said "is there something wrong gentlemen?"  
  
Kuwabara turned to him saying "Yusuke was observant and he made sense…"  
  
Tilting his head with confusion Allen replied "so?"  
  
Kuwabara shook his head as if waking from a dream, or maybe a nightmare, "you don't understand, Yusuke never makes logical sense."  
  
Allen was about to say something to that when he saw Shuichi nodding in agreement with what Kuwabara had said. Allen stood there for a moment more before shrugging and then thinking nothing more of it as he followed down the hallway to where Lian was.  
  
Soon enough Shuichi shrugged his bit of confusion away as well and was about to follow Allen when Kuwabara's hand on his shoulder stopped him from moving. He turned his questioning gaze to Kuwabara and found his partner staring thoughtfully down the hall where everyone had gone.  
  
"I know you all tease me slightly about the hunches that I get at times but you always follow them because they are right. I'll tell you this now, if we continue on this case we won't be able to step back from this anytime soon."  
  
Shuichi turned and really looked at Kuwabara and seeing the haunted look in his eyes Shuichi's teasing comment died on his lips, instead he could only murmur "what do you mean?"  
  
Kuwabara stared at him for a moment before saying "you can't tell me you don't feel something different around us, about us, now that we've all met her."  
  
Shuichi was about to scoff at his partner and long time friend when Something inside him stirred. It was as if some part, buried deep within was beginning to wake up. Shuichi pulled away from Kuwabara and threw his arms around himself as if to contain whatever was within. In seconds the darkness settled itself and Shuichi looked up to see understanding in Kuwabara's eyes.  
  
Shuichi quickly averted his eyes and stalked away saying "let's just go."  
  
Kuwabara said nothing as he followed the long haired man down the now empty hallway hoping that maybe they would get answers soon… before it was too late.   
  
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I know this chapter seemed a little short but I'm already working on the next one and it's on 5 pages already… Next time in "Reality As We Know It" things get stranger as suddenly there's an attack at the hospital, We get to see just who is the martial arts instructor for the police department is, and just what is Allen. Yes, you read right, just What is Allen? Thanks for reading and I hope to keep you with me! 


	4. More Surprises & Not Enough Answers

Hello all! Finally updated this sighs my comp crashed and I lost everything… I spent so much time getting all my programs back and getting new ones (since I didn't have the disk for some). But I'm back on-line and will be updating all my stories. Some things may be changed due to the outlines and chapters being deleted from the crash but for the most part everything is still on track. Thanks for stopping by and please leave a review!

More Surprises Yet Still No Answers

Lian swiftly ran down the hallway dodging anything and anyone in her path as she raced for the nearest exit.

Disjointed thoughts flickered through Lian's mind as she swerved around a startled nurse and headed towards the brightly lit exit sign. "I've got to get out of here. Have to lead them away. Too many people that can be hurt."

Lian gasped as her ribs gave another twitch reminding her that she was still hurt. Giving a mental snarl Lian thought "Oh to hells with this stupidity, if I don't get those demons that were chasing me earlier away from here explaining completely healed ribs will be the least of my worries."

Humming under her breath Lian sent a healing energy through out her body and soon all aches and pains had disappeared just in time for her to slam into the Exit door and sprint out into the storm that was raging outside. Hearing a shout behind her the young woman spun around to see Yusuke picking himself off the ground after stumbling into the nurse that she had previously dodged. Shaking her head in sad amusement Lian placed her hand on the open door slowly shutting it. Before the door was completely shut she looked into Yusuke's eyes and whispered "I'm sorry".

After apologizing to the irate nurse the he had slammed into Yusuke looked up just in time to see Lian mouth what looked like "I'm sorry" before she shut the door. His stomach knotted with the finality of Lian's actions and quickly sprinted for the door, only to slam into an unyielding surface. Eyes round in shock Yusuke turned the handle showing that the door was still unlocked yet still it wouldn't budge.

"What the hell did that girl do?" Yusuke shouted in frustration.

The others rounded the corner in time to hear Yusuke's shout and see him kick the door.

Allen was the first to reach the fuming detective "Yusuke, where's Lian?"

Yusuke narrowed his eyes viciously twisting the knob again while grinding out "she's on the other side of this door. The handle isn't locked but the damn thing seems stuck!"

Kuwabara and Kurama just watched for a moment as Yusuke rammed his shoulder into the door trying to get the stubborn thing to open.

Kurama shook his head "whatever she did the door is very well stuck." Turning around and walking the other way he said over his shoulder "We'll just have to use another door."

The others took one step when suddenly a loud clap of thunder rumbled over head rattling all the windows and startling quite a few people. Allen flung his head up and to the side as if hearing or scenting something and promptly swore a blue streak.

Growling the blonde man faced the door "no time for another exit, this will have to do."

"Allen the door is stuck we have" whatever Kuwabara was about to say was abruptly cut off as Allen took one step back and promptly kicked open the door.

The detectives stared at Allen as he stood in the doorway lightning flaring behind him.

"Well are you coming or not?" then without waiting for an answer Allen turned to be swallowed up in the storm. Shaking his head Yusuke quickly followed along with Kuwabara.

Kurama hesitated a moment before heading through the doorway wondering what was really happening here. After a few steps Kurama gave a small jump as the door abruptly slammed shut behind him. Turning to look at the door Kurama's eyes narrowed and then widened into disbelief at what he saw. There on the seam where the door met the wall was a small handprint melting the two pieces into one, until Allen's kick had broken them apart again.

Filing it away for further investigation Kurama turned and ran in the direction the rest of the party had seemed to go. Blinking Kurama realized that he was quickly catching up to the others and that fact startled him. He knew he was fast but he had never been this fast. Kuwabara was right, things were happening and the thought of that sent his mind spinning. A flash of lightning jolted his senses and Kurama shook his head realizing that these puzzles would just have to wait. He had a job to do and he was going to make sure he did it.

Allen peered into the stormy night looking for Lian and her assailants. Yes he knew the people who had attacked her were back, he could scent them all the way from the door they had just come through. Tilting his head back a bit Allen sniffed searching for there! He had found Lian's scent again… along with the two others. Giving an almost inhuman growl Allen took off like a shot not caring if the detectives were behind him or not.

Yusuke swore as Allen suddenly changed course and began to run even faster than before. Both Yusuke and Kuwabara began to speed up and were shocked to see Kurama suddenly passing them. Before anyone could say anything all four men stopped staring at the scene before them.

Lian's eyes flickered to the side briefly as if seeing them there didn't disturb her in the least. Though if they could hear what she was screaming inside her mind right now the field on which they were all on would definitely be free of foe Or friend.

The lone young woman began mentally swearing in as many languages as she knew once she saw the four. Giving a mental sigh she thought on how she should have expected them though once she had heard the door slamming open. Lian's mental tirade continued as she sensed the four on the side radiating shock "Allen, curse your strength! Forget waking you up with ice water, I'm shaving you bald and dying your head green!"

Seeing the blue demon take a step forward Lian's lip curled into a snarl as she hissed "I wouldn't come any closer if I were you. In fact if you had a the littlest bit of common sense you'd be turning around and going into hiding so neither I nor your boss will ever find you."

The blue demon just chuckled and took another mocking step forward. Allen snarled and would've charged but stopped when Lian simply said "no."

Standing straighter and tilting her head Lian watched the blue demon before her "what is your name?"

The blue demon blinked and stared at the human before him before saying "Azure."

Lian nodded and was about to say something when pealing laughter coming from Yusuke interrupted her.

"Azure!" snicker Yusuke then pointed to the red demon laughing "and who are you? Ruby?"

Both demons began to growl and seeing where it would be headed Lian calmly waved a hand saying "Yusuke shut up." To every ones surprise Yusuke's eyes bugged as his mouth snapped shut without him choosing to do so.

"You two are here for me, then so be it, but if you try to harm them I will not be lenient."

At that point Azure began to snicker and turned to Ruby "oi, do you hear her? She's not going to be lenient with Us? This is too much."

During all this both Ruby and Kurama had kept their eyes on Lian, ignoring all the antics of their companions. They had noticed the look about her of someone who knew how to fight and the gleam of determination in her green/silver eyes; but the most telling thing that showed that events were about to heat up was when she slowly kneeled to the ground and plunged her hands into the soil on either side of her. The swift movement caught the notice of everyone and they all watched in shock as Lian stood pulling two gleaming silver swords out from the ground.

Standing slightly sideways Lian pointed one sword at the demons while the other rested by her side "leave now and nothing shall happen, fight me and you will not live long enough to see the end of the storm."

With this declaration Yusuke suddenly shouted "Lian, you can't just got killing people for trying to kidnap you! Step back and let us take them in."

Yusuke squirmed for a second as all eyes turned to him in disbelief at what he had just said.

Azure's shoulders began to shake and within moments the blue demon was roaring with laughter while pointing at Yusuke. "This is what is supposed to protect you? A bunch of bumbling humans that can't even tell when they are facing a demon?"

Yusuke's eyes narrowed as he glared at the snickering being in front of him "oh please, some really good stage make-up and a few stick on horns and I'm supposed to believe you two are demons?"

Stabbing one silver sword into the ground beside her Lian placed one hand over her eyes muttering "why me?"

Mean while the demon known as Ruby placed a hand on the tree beside him "learn well little human" and then he caused the soggy tree to combust into a glowing pillar of fire. Ruby then proceeded to simply push the tree over saying "Azure, your turn."

Without even taking his eyes off of Yusuke and the others Azure held out a hand and caught the tree. In seconds the roaring flames were dowsed as the tree was encased in glittering ice. Still grinning at Yusuke's bug eyed expression Azure let the tree drop while saying "yeah stage make-up and glued on horns… sure kid."

The three detectives stood in shock as Azure turned to Lian, who noticing the movement had picked up her sword, and said "now back to you."

Azure had taken about 2 steps when suddenly Allen was in front of Lian growling "you won't take her."

Ruby shook his head at the futility of all this "look just let us have the girl and the rest of you can get on with your normal human lives. What is one girl compared to the four of you anyway?"

Allen grinned as lightning flashed around them giving him a feral appearance "and who the hell said I was human?"

This stopped the advancing demon and caused all eyes to be placed on the manically grinning blonde.

Placing a hand on Allen's back Lian whispered "Allen, you don't have to"

"They want to take you away. These things working for some unknown boss wants to take the only person who knows me and still cares for me away and you think I'll be fine just sitting here letting it happen? No, not now not ever."

With those words Allen took a leap at Azure… and changed.

Long out stretched fingers widened, sprouting fur and claws; honey blonde hair darkened and melded with amber fur now covering his body. In seconds what had been a furious young man leaping at Azure was now a very large screaming mountain cat.

Everyone's jaw dropped at seeing Allen change, well everyone except Lian who looked at everything going on and summed it all up nicely "ah hell!"

Well there's the next chapter for you all. Next chapter is a major decision for the YYH team. Will they continue on with their normal human lives, or will they help Lian and Allen and become people they thought was only a story? Next chapter "The truth of life" hope to see you there!


	5. And so it Begins Again

Hello one and all. Sorry for the updates being so far apart but yet Again my computer has decided to have a seisure and lose it's memory of every file I ever had on it... including all future chapters of my fanfic's. Anyway you probably don't want to hear any of this so let's just get the show on the road!

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"They want to take you away. These things working for some unknown boss wants to take the only person who knows me and still cares for me away and you think I'll be fine just sitting here letting it happen? No, not now not ever."

With those words Allen took a leap at Azure… and changed.

Long out stretched fingers widened, sprouting fur and claws; honey blonde hair darkened and melded with amber fur now covering his body. In seconds what had been a furious young man leaping at Azure was now a very large screaming mountain cat.

Everyone's jaw dropped at seeing Allen change, well everyone except Lian who looked at everything going on and summed it all up nicely "ah hell!"

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And so it Begins Again

Instead of lunging for Allen's tail like she wanted to (if only to hear him roar in indignant shock) Lian swung the one silver blade that she had kept in her hand just in time to block Ruby's claws aimed for her shoulder.

Giving a smirking grin Lian said "didn't your boss give you any stipulations about what condition I was supposed to show up in?"

Ruby grunted as he shoved against Lian's sword forcing them away from each other "all that we were told was to make sure you were coherent and breathing." Giving a mocking bow he continued "he said nothing about broken and bleeding."

Hearing Ruby threaten Lian while Allen and Azure were snarling at each other, finally made it hit home for the detectives that Yes this all this was really happening. Yusuke immediately drew his gun and aimed for Azure but gave up in moments when the two creatures crashed against one another clawing and biting. Kuwabara being himself just charged at Ruby swinging a fist for a wicked right hook, only to be thrown back as Ruby's fist connected with his midsection. Kurama darted forward to see the situation better hoping to get an opening to help either Lian or Allen.

Again Ruby charged Lian but this time the young woman was waiting for him with both hands hold a silver sword. Lian blocked the claws aimed for her shoulder but had to leap back to avoid Ruby's other arm coming up from under her guard as if to gut her. To Kurama's horror Lian landed wrong and giving a startled shout she slipped on the drenched ground beneath her, one sword being flung into the stormy night in the process.

As Lian scrambled to bring herself upright Ruby left out a roar and charged.

Kurama quickly darted towards Lian but saw that he would be too late. Furious at seeming helpless Kurama screamed "damn it! Will you trip or something!"

A quick flash of something went ripping through Kurama and then to everyone's shock a root snapped up from the ground entangling itself around Ruby's legs, effectively tripping the red demon. For a moment there was a pause of shock as people stared at Kurama, who in turn was wondering just what the hell he had done.

Then lightning flashes across the sky starling the combatants and reminding them that there was fighting to be had. Ruby roared as he snapped the roots around his feet to charge at Kurama, leaving Lian forgotten at the moment.

Another roar was heard as Azure bit deeply into Allen's shoulder causing the amber cat to scream in pain. Lian's gaze snapped from Ruby to Azure and back, a lone tear escaped from her eye to mix with the rain as she knew she had to help Kurama first. Allen still had tricks up his sleeve while Kurama was just a simple human, even though something had happened earlier, and she knew it had been Kurama, he still had no control.

In a blink of an eye Lian was up and charging at Ruby and soon passed him only to halt in front of Kurama with sword raised "forget something?"

Ruby snarled as he backed off a bit from the sword pointed directly at his heart.

Lian sighed as if so very tired saying "enough. Kurama if you could get the other three and head back towards the hospital."

Kurama got no further than saying "but" when Lian interrupted him.

"Please Kurama." Then with out looking back at him Lian gave a piercing howl that cut through all the noise around them. Allen's head snapped up and suddenly he wrenched away from Azure and ran to where Yusuke was checking over Kuwabara. Planting himself in front of the two detectives Allen let out a roar.

Still watching Lian, Kurama loped over to where his co-workers and the large golden cat stood. For one moment Kurama forgot Allen was in a different form and asked him "what is she up to?"

Kurama looked dismayed at what he had just done but before he could apologize Allen replied "she is going to do what they are hunting her for."

Sounding indignant Yusuke said "I thought you didn't know why they were after her?"

Allen snorted "I don't and neither do they, but I have know Lian for years and when she gets serious they best thing is to just do what she says."

Kurama went to Kuwabara's other side and helped Yusuke bring him to his feet "when did Lian say anything?"

Even though in the form of a large predator, Allen managed to give Kurama a scathing look "I may be a feline but that doesn't mean I couldn't understand the howl she sent." Snorting again Allen looked ahead saying "now just watch."

Four pairs of eyes watched the scene in front of them, Azure and Ruby were trying to circle Lian, but she always made sure to keep them both in front of her as she held the sword pointed towards them.

As he watched Yusuke saw that Lian wasn't keeping her steps the same, in fact it was almost as if she was moving to a rhythm that only she could hear. Kuwabara noticed Allen's ears twitching frantically first "hey fuzzy, what's with you?"

Blinking, Kurama and Yusuke first looked incredulously at Kuwabara and then turned their gaze to the feline in front of them.

Sounding almost puzzled Allen replied "I think I'm going nuts…" Shaking his head vigorously Allen took one step forward and paused as if listening "ok I'm not going crazy, I still hear it."

Seeing Ruby and Azure dart forward only to be forced back by a wicked slash of silver Kurama snapped "so what is going on? Just what is it you hear that is so fascinating?"

Sitting on his haunches Allen slowly shook his head saying "you won't believe me but I swear I hear the theme for the movie Mortal Kombat."

Just as the three detectives were about to start yelling at Allen for being so ridiculous a blast of sound washed over them and indeed it was the Mortal Kombat theme.

Before anyone could blink Lian was charging the demons and as she passed between the two she spun around slicing at Ruby and Azure. Both let out a roar and each clasped a hand to a stump to where their opposing arms used to be.

Swaying back and forth almost bouncing side to side Lian said "I didn't want to have to do this, I gave you both the chance to leave, but that is no longer an option" thus finished with what she was saying Lian charged again and as she reached the demons the words of the song blasted through the area and in time with the ending of the songs Lian quickly cut off their heads. Lian landed in a crouch and slowly stood as the two demons turned to blue and red smoke breezing past her to fade into the night chasing the leaving storm.

Eyes downcast Lian said "I warned them, I warned them if they didn't leave well enough alone the ending of the storm would be their death." Sighing Lian turned to face the four stunned men watching her, grinning sheepishly she said "umm I don't suppose we could just agree that this was all a figment of our imaginations and go home can we?"

Seeing the incredulous looks in their eyes Lian sighed "all right. Just let me fix a few things then we can go to my place and you can ask your questions."

Turning away Lian began to hum and then in a beautiful voice she sang "what was done, now undo. Return you to the form that's true!"

Before their eyes the earth ruffled a bit and clods of torn up earth settled back in place. The husk of the tree that had been uprooted, burned, and frozen, flew across the yard to land in the hole that its violent seizure had caused. Soon new bark covered the tree and leaves sprouted from the newly formed branches. After everything had settled Lian stopped humming and looked around at everything with a critical eye. Giving a satisfied nod Lian then seemed to pull a cell phone out of mid-air and began talking into it.

"Lareth? Yeah it's Lian, I need you to get the van to me. Hmm? Where am I? Err yeah I guess that would help." Giving a slightly nervous laugh Lian continued "well um you're not going to really believe this, but I'm at Sakura Hospital."

The four men watched in amusement as Lian said the last sentence in a rush and quickly pulled the phone away from her ear. Of course that still wasn't enough as the voice on the other side began screaming loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Hospital? What the hell can You be doing at a hospital? Oh my god, there were witnesses weren't there? That's why you're in one of those places! Lian if you don't start answering me I'm going to blister your ear later!"

Giving a sullen glare at the phone Lian muttered "as if you aren't doing that already?"

Reluctantly Lian put the phone back to her ear saying "please Lareth, just bring the van. It looks like I'll be staying home for quite a while now and since I have guests we'll need it to be able to haul everybody over at once." Lian gave a small smile "Yes, yes, all will be revealed once we get to the house and I get into some good clothing."

Closing the phone the young woman turned to the four avidly watching her "err.. why don't we go to the corner to wait for our ride?"

Quickly scrambling away Lian never saw the hardening look in Allen's eyes as he shot off after her "she's not escaping from this."

The other three quickly followed after the fleeing girl and pursuing were-cat.

Just at that moment Yusuke blinked and called out to Allen "Oi! How the hell did you get your clothes back?"

Everyone just stopped and even Lian, who was in the lead turned to stare at Yusuke.

Allen looked at Yusuke as if the ebon haired man wasn't all quite there "after everything you've seen tonight, out of all the fraggin questions that should be running through your mind you ask where the hell my clothes came from?"

Yusuke shrugged while walking past Allen and the others saying "well yeah." Stopping and pointing his thumb over his should towards Lian he said "I figure we aren't going to get any answers out of her until we get to wherever she wants to go so I might as well get some out of you."

Allen's mouth gaped while Lian hid a muffled snicker behind her hand, Kuwabara just stared blankly and Kurama said wonderingly "you know Yusuke half the time I can't tell if you're an idiot savant or just an idiot."

Well that comment did Lian in and she started laughing so hard she had to hold her sides while shaking, Allen just shook his head before giving a small chuckle himself, and Yusuke was about to ream Kurama when a dry voice inturupted.

"Well I'm glad some people seem to be having fun."

Lian gave a shout of "Lareth!" just before launching herself at a silver blond man behind her. Unknown to anyone else seeing Lian hugging the stranger made something within Kurama snarl "mine!" Jerking back at that unfamiliar feeling Kurama focused his eyes forward only to be met my green silver-shot eyes.

Placing her hand to his forehead Lian looked at him concerned "Kurama are you ok? You seem a little flushed."

Taking her hand from his face with a small smile Kurama replied "no I'm quite all right. I was just thinking of something."

Lian's eyes clouded over a bit with sadness as she gave a soft "oh" and began to turn to walk away.

'Moron!' a voice inside his head hissed 'make it better!'

Kurama blinked shaking his head and as he felt Lian's hand leaving his he suddenly clasped her hand tighter not letting her go "I'm sorry, I seem to have upset you."

Looking a little surprised at his words Lian smiled softly "it's ok." Then taking her hand out of his she turned to all of them saying "come, I'm sure you all have questions and would like to get into some dry clothing."

Without a word Lareth came forward and scooped Lian into his arms causing one blond and one red head to snarl silently, though in Allen's case the snarl was not so quiet.

Sighing softly Lareth looked down at the dozing woman in his arms giving a soft chuckle as he started to place her in the front seat of the van he muttered "now what have you picked up milady?"

Giving a silly smile and a tired laugh she said "well if everything is how I think it will be, I believe I've picked up a were-cat, a famous kitsune theif, a half-demon, a high level spiritual human" and taking a deep breath she suddenly warbbled off key "and a partridge in a pear tree!" before passing out.

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Ok, I know it's a short chapter but I thought I'd leave this on a sort of funny note before things statred getting really serious . and believe me they do. Next up Lian tells the others about her abilities and why she's trying to seem like a simple human. The Spirit Detectives have to make the choice of staying who they are now or helping Lian and becoming people only heard about in fairie tales. So do they try to save humanity and possibly loose theirs in turn or do they turn their back on everything and risk loosing the world? Find out in the next chapter "As the balance tips" 


	6. Life is Not So Simple

I would like to thank those who have reviewed and supported this story. It is thanks to you delightful people that help keep fanfictions going. Also for some of you this chapter may seem long in explanations at times but well, it is needed for the rest of the storyline. Thank you for your patience and have a good read.

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Life is Not So Simple

The ride to Lian's home seemed to take forever to all the occupants in the van. Tempers were beginning to rise as time passed and they still were on the move with no evidence of stopping anytime soon.

Finally not able to take the silence anymore Yusuke growled "hey you! Driver! If it only took a few minutes for you to get to us at the hospital why the hell is it taking so long for you to get back to where ever she lives?"

Now normally Kurama would have apologized for his fellow detective's rude manner but with all that had happened and how mixed up he was feeling inside he believed a little belligerence was in order. Apparently everyone had the same idea since as he watched them, Kurama saw that not a single person was about to berate Yusuke and they all just stared at Lareth.

Lareth rolled his eyes sighing at such rudeness coming from the people behind him. Leaning over he brushed the silvery bangs out of Lian's face and smiled softly at the dozing young woman. "If you +ahem+ gentlemen have any questions I suggest you wait until we reach the house so that Lian may answer them there."

Yusuke snorted "so she's got all the answers hmm?"

Then with out warning Yusuke shot a hand forward towards Lian. Without even taking his eyes off the road Lareth's hand shot back clasping Yusuke's wrist in a tight grip.

"Don't even think of waking her till we get home. I really don't think you know just how much energy she used trying to do what ever she did back there." Still not releasing Yusuke, though the hotheaded detective was truly trying to break his hold, Lareth looked over at Lian concerned "I just hope milady didn't sacrifice any part of herself…"

Kuwabara blinked "sacrifice herself? But she's right there sleeping."

Releasing Yusuke, sending the detective to flop rather hard back onto the seat, Lareth replied "she may not have completely sacrificed her life for what she did, but if she did not use precautions then she may have lost days, months or even years from her life."

As Kurama's mouth opened Lareth quickly cut him off "I'm sorry young man, but any other explanations will have to wait for milady to awaken."

Glancing at Lian, Kurama might have argued the point if he had not seen how pale she was and the dusky rings under her eyes. Shocked by what seemed to be a sudden change in Lian, Kurama softly said "what happened to her?"

Lareth looked into Kurama's eyes via the rear-view mirror and smiled softly when he saw true concern in the detectives emerald eyes "all I know is that she used a lot of energy today and possibly some of her life force. Until milady awakens and speaks to us I know about as much as you do at this point."

Leaning forward a bit Yusuke asked "Well, if you can't talk about her then what about yourself?"

Lareth's eyes widened a bit as he glanced at Yusuke "why in the world would you want to know about me?"

Yusuke shrugged leaning back in his seat "maybe it's nothing but even though you seem young you talk old."

Lareth paused for a moment before laughing "I talk old?"

Yusuke wave a hand lazily "you know using milady, talking about life forces and all that."

Lareth's eyes narrowed for a bit studying Yusuke for a moment before grinning ruefully "I can't figure out if that attitude of yours is the truth or if it's just a good cover."

Allen and Kurama traded smirks as Yusuke sputtered at the comment.

Giving a crooked smile Kurama said "you know about as much as we do along those lines. He tends to surprise us too at odd moments."

Just as Yusuke was contemplating lunging at Kurama, Lareth said "ah home sweet home."

All four men's jaws dropped as they looked past the towering gates in front of the van to the large house and wide space beyond.

Allen shook his head saying "this isn't Lian's apartment."

Lareth blinked for a moment as if confused by Allen's comment "apartment, apartment…" Suddenly smiling Lareth nodded towards the group in the back even as his eyes scanned the gates that were opening in front of them "ah yes, the apartment that you mentioned is a set up so that the true home remains a safe haven for us all."

Kurama watched as the landscape flickered by and the crunching of gravel met his ears "what could Lian have done to merit the need for a safe haven as you put it?"

Lareth began laughing as he parked the van "ah you just don't see."

Lareth got out of the van and as he shut the door the others began filing out of the other side. One by one each of the men stood staring at the sight of the people in front of them.

Opening the passenger side door and taking Lian gently in his arms Lareth turned to the stunned group "this is not a place that was made by us for her, Safe Haven was a place made by Lian for us."

Thus saying that Lareth turned to walk up the stairs making sure not to jostle the exhausted girl in his arms. Realizing that he did not hear many footsteps behind him Lareth turned to see most of the group still stunned behind him. The only one that had shaken off the sight before them and followed had been Allen.

Yusuke watched as Lareth turned to look down at them from the top of the stairs framed, by what he could swear was a pair of centaurs. Still taking it all in he saw Allen turn to look at them with a questioning gaze.

Just as Kuwabara was opening his mouth to say something the female centaur began to speak.

"Lareth, what has become of our lady and who are those men?" Turning to look at the occupants on the stairs she gave a delicate sniff before continuing "the were-cat I can see reason but the humans?"

Yusuke was about to rip into the centaur when a rather faint snort stopped him short.

"So what the hell am I? Chopped liver?"

All eyes turned to the source of the voice as Allen rushed to Lian "you're awake!"

Grinning wanly Lian replied "of course I am you silly furball." Scowling at him Lian continued "you think something like those demons could keep me down for long?"

Then Lian's eyes drifted over to the centaur mare who had spoken moments before "Niala, as you are learning not all humans are bad." Smiling faintly "in fact, despite seeing Allen suddenly change and have the fact that demons do exist shoved down their throats, these gentlemen still stuck around to try and help me."

Niala's eyes narrowed as she gave the group a searching glance before nodding respectfully to Lian "if you say milady." Then she and the other centaur turned and went into the house by the large open double doors. As if that was a signal the other people that had been awaiting the arrival of their lady began filtering back into the house pausing to whisper hello or just to give a reassuring touch to Lian's arm.

Lareth smiled as he looked down at the tug on his pants to see a few of the Haven's children looking up at them with worried eyes. Slowly kneeling he brought Lian into the sight range of the children.

Leaning over Lian hugged them smiling and giving the children murmured words of encouragement before sending them inside.

Lareth stood up and walked the few paces to where Allen stood "if you could take milady to the sitting room I will get refreshments for you all and you can continue the discussions privately."

Nodding Allen reached for Lian then suddenly stared down at her in shock when he realized she felt lighter than she should be.

Feeling Allen's questioning gaze Lian merely smiled and pointing towards the open doors she crowed "all right furball, onward!"

Hearing her voice still vibrant the seriousness that had been over shadowing them all suddenly broke as Allen began laughing before he placed his chin of the top of her head smiling "only you Lian, only you"

"Whaaat?" Lian whined as Allen began walking towards the doors "the atmosphere was getting stuffy and I for one do not like that 'drowning in cotton' feeling."

Grinning Lian peered over Allen's shoulder at the group below them "will you slow pokes get a move on?"

Yusuke walked up the stairs, hunching his shoulders, but as he passed by Kurama the red head noticed that Yusuke was grinning.

Shaking his head Kurama followed after their unspoken leader wondering at everything was happening. Yes they all seemed to be taking it well, but was it because of shock or something else?

Passing through the doors Kurama was broken out of his wondering thoughts as he stepped onto the plush carpeting in the hall. Looking down he saw green carpeting that came eerily close to looking like grass and as his eyes trailed up he noticed that the walls were actually wood. Not a cheap wood paneling either, but actual polished wood. As he stared at the multi colored panels something within him stirred home. Blinking in startlement at the feeling of contentment swirling through him Kurama quickly surveyed the rest of the area. Large windows, some floor to ceiling, were scattered across the walls letting the silver light from the night sky flow through the hall. A burbling sound caught his attention and as Kurama swung his eyes to the right he saw a small rocky outcropping with a waterfall splashing into what looked like a basin built directly into the floor. Kurama would have liked to observe things a bit more but the others had already entered the room ahead of him and he did not want to seem like he was prying.

Looking up from the sofa on which she and Allen were curled up on Lian watched as Kurama entered the room with a slightly wistful look to his eyes. Smiling as the last detective had entered the room Lian spoke "please, make yourselves comfortable. Lareth should be here soon with refreshments."

Yusuke flumped into the chair directly across from Lian, enabling him to watch her as they asked their questions. He knew that right now he should be half out of his mind with everything that has happened with just a few days passing but to his surprise he was relatively calm. For some reason he felt an almost acceptance with all the craziness that was going on. Almost as if these events were nothing new to him.

As the quietest of the group so far, Kuwabara sat in the chair on the left of Yusuke closer to the fireplace. Through out everything Kuwabara had been trying to "feel" around with the slight ability he seemed to have. Nothing here screamed danger… in fact a most welcome feeling seemed to just invade everything here. That feeling was half the reason he was on edge. This was not normal. Demons were not normal, magic was not normal, and homes that gave out an aura were not normal. Closing his eyes for a moment Kuwabara took a deep breath and then suddenly realized normal or not, this situation didn't feel unusual to him. It was like he had been through things like this before and probably would be again.

Kurama settled into the chair on Yusuke's right, closer to the side of the sofa that held Lian and Allen. Watching the two he realized he felt a kind of peace about them. Seeing how Allen held Lian's upper body so that she was reclining on his chest with his chin resting on the top of her head he saw the bond the two shared was not of lovers but as of family. Once this was realized something shifted within him, settling down grudgingly at that realization.

As Yusuke began to open his mouth for the interrogation Lian held up on hand to stall him "a moment please, Lareth needs help."

Lightly waving a hand at the door the people in the room saw the previously closed door slowly open and Lareth walked in with trays of food and drinks in both arms. As Lareth walked into the room Lian once again motioned the door shut.

Feeling the stares of the people in the room Lian shut her eyes murmuring "I figured a small demonstration to help you believe things with your own eyes might ease this a bit."

Feeling a cool hand on her forehead Lian looked up into the concerned blue eyes of Lareth "milady are you sure you wish to do this now? I'm sure the gentlemen can wait a "

Smiling wanly Lian interrupted Lareth "no my friend. If you consider the first day that this all started then it would show that these men have been waiting almost over two weeks to learn what is happening." Shaking her head slowly before looking at the three detectives Lian spoke "they have been patient and so the information will be their reward."

Lareth sighed and looked to the ceiling as if asking for patience "you know we can not argue with you Lady when you make polite sense."

Grinning mischievously Lian quipped "I know and that's why I do it."

Shaking his head and ruffling her hair Lareth just smiled as he left the room shutting the door behind him.

Reaching forward for a cup of tea Lian sipped it then turned her attention to the three in front of her "so what would you like to know first?"

Yusuke was the first to react "who the hell are you?"

Kuwabara scowled at the ebon haired detective as Kurama actually hissed at him.

Lian blinked for a moment before bursting out laughing "oh my +chuckle+ straight to the point aren't you?"

Grinning she replied "I am Lian Leviathan, daughter to Leon and Melisande Leviathan. I was born in Ireland though at the age of three we moved to Japan for another three years. After living in Japan for three years we came to the US and I stayed here while my parents continue to travel.

Closing her eyes as if remembering something painful she continued "six years ago when I turned seventeen I was grateful that they had decided to continue their travels, since that is when all this began.

Opening her eyes with a far away look to them she spoke " I believe that at one point in every person's life they begin to question about why are they here and what is the meaning of being here at all. They usually turn to religion, gods, goddess', beliefs, something that will take charge even if only for a little while and make things seem not so useless or chaotic. I too fell into that searching for something but I was restless and nothing I found seemed quite right. Some rules didn't seem like they made any sense, or there were just things I found morally wrong."

Sighing Lian pushed herself up and turned so that her back was leaning against Allen's shoulder and she was facing the night sky through the large window across the room. For a moment it seemed like she was searching the stars for strength and then found it seconds later.

"I continued searching for the reason for me to live, but I began to realize that I was looking for a reason with other people's rules and not my own. At that point I began to look at all the guidance people were giving objectively and that was when I noticed that all beliefs all guidelines had one thing that made them all the same."

Turning eyes that seemed so old for someone so young to the detectives in front of her Lian said "someone was always in power. No matter what religion, belief, or cult, that has come out of the woodworks you'll notice that they always have some one or multiple people/things with power to rule them all with. That was when I decided I wouldn't believe in a name or even a persona, I would believe in power itself. The reason I was here was because I was created to be here."

Smiling at the detectives Lian shook her head "needless to say there were a few more revelations and such but what all my discoveries gave me was a major headache. If you Know what power is and truly realize what is going on you tend to get the attention of power."

"One night an Avatar came to me and told me I was now one of 'the Enlightened'"

"Wait a minute! Are you saying that you met an angel with a message from god or something?" Yusuke cried in disbelief.

Lian snorted "haven't you been listening? Angels, Gods, Goddess', all of them are actually either fictional, one of 'The Enlightened', or an Avatar. They all used power but does anyone ever really think about where it all comes from! There is something out there that gives those people the ability for 'magic' or 'miracles' and that is what I believe in. I can only call it Power and yet I am still giving it a name…" Shaking her head "let us just say that what I believed in finally took notice of me and had no problems with letting me know it was watching me."

Quietly Kurama began "you said that you were told you were now an 'Enlightened One', what does that mean or entail?"

Lian hugged her shoulders and began to shiver as if cold but they all could see that it was her past memories that was what making her shake. "Being an 'Enlightened One' is not the grand peace that people tend to think of when they hear the word Enlightened. For us all it means is we have the ability to do whatever we want, make others do what we want, we are powerful but we are also cursed in a way.

Grinning wryly at the three before her she continued "you know the saying with great power comes great responsibility?" Lian shrugged her shoulders "it's cliché but true." Lian's brown furrowed "At least for those of us with a conscious."

For once Kuwabara beat everyone to the punch by asking "what do you mean by 'At least for those of us with a conscious'?"

Lian looked at him sadly "it means just as it sounds. Good or bad if you gain the realization of the power enough to be recognized then you are recognized, no questions asked by the Power whether it will be used for good or evil and so on."

All the detectives looked at her with dawning horror as Kurama began to speak what was on their minds "you mean that if some insane dictator became one of these 'Enlightened Ones' then he would have unlimited power?"

Lian looked out the window once more before softly replying "to an extent, yes"

Leaping up and looming towards the two on the couch Yusuke shouted "what do you mean to an extent!"

Lian could feel Allen tensing and feel the growl rumbling in his chest. Placing a hand on his knee in reassurance Allen backed down a bit but not much. Sighing Lian tiredly spoke "Settle yourself detective. I may not have used any of my own life these past few days but that does not mean I am not weary from what has been done."

Yusuke gave the pair in front of him a scorching glare before falling back onto the couch behind him, only to glare at them some more.

Kurama sighed, placing his chin on folded hands before speaking "Lareth mentioned something about you possibly losing time from your life and just now you have mentioned the same." Tilting his head watching Lian's eyes Kurama said "is that what you meant by saying 'to an extent'?"

Lian nodded "no matter how much power we have backing us we are still human. We were not meant to completely have so much siphoned through us and that is what many of the others tend to forget once they receive their abilities."

Grinning impishly Lian said "if the Avatar chosen for you believes that you would be neutral or help people then they will tell you a hint to not burning out, if they believe you would abuse what you have been given they will tell you nothing. If it's the second case then you figure it out on your own or burn out your life."

Giving Lian a look Kuwabara spoke up "there is another saying that might fit, 'absolute power corrupts absolutely', would that fit any of the people that have been given this power?"

Lian opened her mouth to reply when another voice stopped her.

"Very astute for a being brought into this world by the wants of other humans."

Groaning Lian buried her face into Allen's chest mumbling "oh frag it! Please make him go away!"

All the men in the room looked up confused at the silver haired fellow who was grinning down at them all from his seat on the ceiling. You could tell when they all realized the person on the ceiling was defying gravity by the widening of their eyes and Yusuke's shout of "what the hell?"

Swooping down from the ceiling to hover behind Lian the silver haired fellow smirked as he pinched Lian's cheek that wasn't hidden "Ah what fools these mortals be! You tell them so much and they still don't get that you are one of the good guys."

Waving a finger and tsking at the detectives the strange man said "I'll have to say it's not very nice of you to insult one of the most powerful yet nicest of the 'Enlightened Ones'. It's not very often you get such a combination of both in a human, in fact I believe the last one that came close to our little dragon here was a fellow by the name of Merlin."

Kuwabara opened his mouth but was interrupted by a growl from Lian "Puck, you die."

That said Lian launched herself over the couch to tackle the man now known as Puck, but apparently her exhaustion was catching up with her once again, as she was only able to tumble over the back of the couch into Puck's arms.

Blinking tiredly up at Puck's concerned face Lian said "I must've fallen asleep, you're not laughing or making a joke about my human clumsiness so this has got to be a dream."

Puck chuckled at his charge's attempt at humor "no little dragon, you are not asleep but you soon will be."

As Lian was about to protest Puck covered her eyes with one hand saying "sleep." When he removed his hand everyone saw that Lian was now fast asleep. Holding Lian, Puck lightly leaped onto the couch then settled down putting Lian in his lap while looking at the people that were in the room.

Yusuke glared saying "I suppose we're going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out more now.

Puck blinked before saying "why would you wait til the morrow for thy curiosity when the Avatar Puck sits before you?"

For once in the span of time that passed Allen spoke "you mean you're Lian's Avatar? One of the fey is an Avatar for basically the power of the universe to a young human girl?"

Puck gave Allen a toothy grin "and what of it kitty cat?"

Allen sputtered at the "kitty cat" comment before trying to reach out to strangle the fey. Abruptly Allen flumped onto the couch as Puck disappeared and re-appeared floating above them scowling a bit with Lian still in his arms.

"Foolish one, would you wake her when she needs to rest? Ask me what you will quickly so that I might send you home and leave the little dragon to sleep."

Growling as he sat up Allen glared at Puck "why do you keep calling her 'little dragon'?"

Puck laughed "is that not what she is? So fierce and loyal, protecting those that are her treasures and woe betide those that try to harm them for she would bring the wrath of the universe upon the miscreant."

Yusuke snorted "you sound like you're quoting some type of poetry or something instead of an explanation."

Allen gave a side glare to the grinning fey replying "get used to it Yusuke, unless they want to be serious, and from what I have heard, Puck rarely is, they tend to speak in that manner."

Kurama quietly interjected something that made Puck stop grinning "what did you mean when earlier you said 'astute for a being brought into this world by the wants of other humans'."

Puck fidgeted once before sighing "I had hoped you would have forgotten that sly slip of the tongue."

Leaning back into his seat Kurama calmly watched Puck saying "obviously we have not."

Huffing Puck looked like a spoiled child before replying "fine, fine, I can see you aren't going to let this go. Remember when Lian said that humans weren't meant to Completely handle Power?"

Waiting until he saw all the men give a nod Puck continued "humans do have some slight ability, or else you would not have your psychics, fortune tellers, wiccans, empaths, or any other human that has a bit of something that makes them special. Now a single human may not have much power, but a human with something to believe in raises what power they do have by a bit, add a dash of selfish desire and surprise, surprise the power level goes up a bit more. Humans ability to feel so strongly is a part of why they have anything at all. Now take that human with a belief and place him or her among many others with that same belief or desire and you will find that they can actually affect the world itself."

Looking at the three across from him Puck gave a sympathetic smile "and that is where you all come in. I'm sure you have a boss named Koenma, and know a few others named Hiei, Botan, Genkai, and others I could name."

Kuwabara's eyes focused on Puck "and how would you know this? Is all of this, some strange sick joke?"

"No joke dear boy, just the workings of the world and the power of human desire. You all came into being through normal human births but are not normal yourselves." Peering at the three Puck corrected himself "well at the moment you seem normal enough, but that can change very quickly. You see you are all modeled after the show of YuYu Hakusho."

Leaping up Yusuke pointed an accusing finger at the floating fey "just wait a damn minute! Are you saying our lives are nothing but some sitcom show?"

Puck grinned and would have clapped his hands if he had not been holding Lian at the time "a sitcom? No my dear boy yours is an action anime and may I remind you that as of this moment the only thing you have in common with that show is your names and your visages. Your lives as they have happened so far do not coincide with that of the show from whence your namesakes have come from." Tilting his head and looking at them Puck continued "in fact I'm beginning to wonder why you were chosen to help."

Looking up at the floating fey Allen asked "what do you mean chosen to help?"

Puck gave a loud sigh "it seems there is a powerful Rogue out there and that is probably who sent those demons earlier." Scowling a bit at Lian "stubborn little dragon. If she wasn't so determined to cling to her human morals she wouldn't be in this state."

Kuwabara snorted "did you ever think that it's because of those human morals that she is still a good person?"

Puck just snorted in return "I doubt there is much that would make her stray to becoming a Rogue."

Kurama looked at the fey searchingly "that is the second time you've mentioned someone going Rouge. What exactly do you mean by that?"

Puck shrugged "you'll need to know this to make your decision anyway. A Rogue is an Enlightened that has gone, mmm how do you humans put it? Ah yes! A Rogue is someone who has gone over to the dark side. Now the problem with a true Rogue is they either have learned how to focus their power and is still sane or in the worst circumstance they have learned to focus their powers and is no longer sane."

Yusuke then spoke "what about the ones that don't know how to focus their power sane or not?"

Puck grinned cheerfully at Yusuke "oh them? They're dead. Burned up from the inside out due to their frail mortal bodies not being able to take the strain. You see Rogues really were good Enlightened once but as your orange haired friend over there stated earlier, absolute power can corrupt absolutely and in a Rogue's case that saying is almost like a mantra to them."

Everyone blinked as Puck slowly floated upside-down, never dropping Lian, as he continued his explanation "you see Power is power, it has a slight sentience but when you encompass an entire universe it's a little bit of a problem to focus all that attention onto one human that happens to get the idea about your existence. That's where we Avatars come into play. We live on this planet too so we have an interest in keeping it in one whole, relatively peaceful, piece.

Puck then cuddled Lian like a teddy bear causing both Allen and Kurama to growl at him "I was lucky enough to get this little dragon as my charge."

A quiet snort from the direction of the doorway caused everyone to turn and see Lareth enter. "Lucky my arse Puck. Everyone in Avalon knows you threatened anyone who even looked like they were going to try and be her Avatar."

Glancing at the other four Lareth said "do not let the Fool confuse you. A mighty trickster is he and a master at misdirection. For once, the Puck was serious and willing to fight with his bag of tricks to be the Avatar of our little dragon."

Raising an eyebrow Kurama asked "and you would now these details how?"

Giving a smirk Lareth swept his hair behind his ears showing their pointed tips while saying "why because I was there of course."

Yusuke stood up glaring at the occupants of the room "enough with the 'Lord of the Rings' cast coming out of the woodworks, just tell us what the hell is going on and what we have to do with it."

Puck gave a disdainful sniff "humans, always thinking they're so important. Know this mortal you are just a convenient bonus as of this moment." Turning glowing sapphire eyes on Yusuke, Puck hissed "in fact maybe we should just wipe you of your memories of this whole thing and just leave you with the feeling of how you might have been able to do something as you watch the horror that may or may not appear because you were too busy being a hot headed idiot to help!"

Growling Yusuke went face to face with Puck "and just what the hell is "this?" all you have told us is there are people out there with a ton of power, not a lot of rules binding them, and how some of them have flipped to the dark side!"

Lareth's quiet voice cut through the hostility between the two "and that is exactly what is happening. From what we can tell a Rogue has appeared and is targeting Enlightened that may be able to stop him. It took him a while to find Lian I guess because she keeps such a low profile for an Enlightened."

Kuwabara spoke up "so if she's had a low profile how'd he find her."

Lareth shrugged "we're not really sure. We think it might be because he has his demon minions searching for power pulses. If Lian used her power in the past few months while there was a demon within range they would be able to tell if it was just brief power from a human or an Enlightened."

Turning to Allen, Lareth asked "has she done anything unusual? I know she can be cautious but when people are in trouble she tends to slip a bit."

Allen blinks then got a concentrated look on his face "no, there's nothing that I can… wait, can she heal?"

Puck snorted "Hello! Infinite cosmic power, itty bitty human girl, of course she can heal!"

"About a month ago when we were coming back from dinner some punks tried to mug us and take off with Lian. Of course I fought back but without shifting forms they got a few good blows in. I was bleeding pretty badly but we managed to get the rest of the way to my place before I collapsed. I was fading in and out but I remember waking up an hour or so later to see Lian beside me. She smiled and told me it wasn't time to wake, next thing I know it's the next morning and all I have to show for it is a bloody torn up shirt and some soreness. I know Were's can heal quickly but at that time even I thought it was a little odd."

Looking over at Lian he softly said "she did heal me didn't she?"

Lareth sighed "yes she did and I bet that put a nice little beacon up saying where she was. It might have been brief but if they were nearby it would have been enough."

Kurama looked thoughtful "so what you are saying is that a Rogue has found her and is trying to eliminate her?"

Puck looked at Kurama grinning "you got it Sherlock. Get it, Sherlock? Detective?" Seeing the deadpan looks he was getting Puck sniffed "no sense of humor you people. Anyway delightful as it is to hold our little dragon I'm going to go put her to bed. Be right back."

Before anyone could protest Puck simply popped out of the room, literally. Within a few moments the fey was back and hovering over their heads once more.

Looking at the two fey Yusuke scowled "So now you guys have figured out that there is a Rogue after her and this guy has a lot of powers not to mention demons as his lackeys, what could we possibly do to help you? We're just human."

A couple of boxes appeared in Puck's hands "well for starters you all can start watching these." As he tossed the boxes at the detectives they saw they were actually dvd cases.

Looking at the cover Yusuke shouted "what the hell?"

Lareth looked at the disbelieving men in front of him "for once I agree with Puck. Take those home and watch them, learn who you might be and what you can do if you choose. If you can not get time off to watch them then let us know and we will work around that."

Yusuke spluttered "and what are we supposed to tell the chief? Hey boss we have to take time off to watch a cartoon show that supposedly has us starring in it and oh yeah not to complicate things but it looks like were going to be stuck in a power battle between the light and dark side!"

Kuwabara's voice cut through the air "or we could just tell him we have a lead and we need time off to investigate it."

Yusuke's mouth dropped open for a moment before grinding out "che, sure why don't we go with that."

Lareth bowed "if you gentlemen would follow me."

The three exchanged a glance before following the blonde fey out the door. Yusuke almost went right, thinking that Lareth was showing them the door when to his surprise Lareth actually went left farther down the hallway.

Opening another door Lareth motioned them all to enter. Walking in jaws dropped at the sight before them while Yusuke and Kuwabara let out an appreciative whistle.

Kuwabara grinned "Now that is what I call an entertainment center!"

Puck chuckled "our little dragon makes sure we are all comfortable with all the trimmings."

Yusuke gave the small theater like room a good look and noticed something peculiar about the seats that were placed all around.

Pointing to a strange looking couch type chair he snorted "what the heck is that supposed to be, some type of modern art furniture?"

Glancing over to where Yusuke had indicated Lareth grinned "no, those are actually the seats for the centaurs." Lareth gave a small laugh "if you have not figured it out yet we have quite a few special individuals here and our lady makes sure that all types can enjoy what we have here."

Kuwabara looked at Lareth "you keep calling Lian our lady, why is that? Is she some type of royalty?"

"It is a sign of respect for one who would think of us and give us a home."

The group turned to see Niala standing in the doorway watching them as she spoke "our lady created this home for those who no longer have a place with humanity or lands of their own."

Nodding towards Lareth she continued "the children of Avalon have the Underhill and Avalon itself to call home but for the rest of us who do not have a 'place' the world outside can be a deadly thing. As always humans fear what they do not understand and destroy what they fear."

Walking into the room Niala slowly circled the group of detectives studying them. Once she was back to her starting point the female centaur looked over a Lareth "are they going to help her?"

Lareth smiled "we were just getting to that point in a way."

Niala snorted in distain as she pawed the floor with her hoof "how hard of a decision is it? Help save the world or not, that's all there is to it."

Lareth winced "Niala…"

Tossing her head she cut him off "forget it." Niala gave the detectives one final glance before stalking out of the room.

Lareth sighed "please forgive her. Niala has had a tough life before our lady found her."

Seeing Yusuke about to say something probably rudely Kurama asked "why were you showing us this area?"

Lareth cleared his throat "I figured if you gentlemen would prefer to stay here for a few days and used these facilities to watch the dvds. It might be a bit more comfortable and save you time if you stay with us."

Yusuke snorted "and without even talking to Lian you're sure she's ok with us staying here?"

The Elven vassal looked at Yusuke with amusement "you will learn that she is 'ok' with quite a few things. If you would like I could show you the rooms you would be staying in and then leave you to make the decision amongst yourselves."

The three detectives followed Lareth up a winding staircase to a second floor with a long hallway filled with doors along each side. As they passed by the doors they noticed that some doors were painted with different colors and a name plate while others were just plain white with nothing on them.

Noticing the other men's scrutiny Lareth spoke up "the plain white doors signify that the rooms are empty and awaiting someone. The rooms with the colors and plates are occupied and colored to the occupant's tastes."

Stopping at an unusual white double door Lareth opened the doors wide and motioned the detectives through.

Kurama's eyes widened a bit, startled when the doors slowly began to change color as Yusuke and Kuwabara walked through. Slowly, as if being filled from the top, a dark blue began flowing towards the bottom of the door while a burning red began creeping up from the bottom, only to meet the blue in the middle where the two colors became a sort of hazy purple. Carefully watching the doors as he crossed the threshold Kurama blinked as ivy vines crept around the edges of the door and finally stopped when they were worked into what looked like a framing lattice work on the edges of the door.

Looking back behind him Kurama met Lareth's amused gaze and wondered how many times the man had seen people stop to watch the doors with amazement as they changed for each person.

Bowing Lareth said "and now gentlemen I leave you to your discussions. As you can see this is the main sitting room and each of the doors around the room leads to a bedroom with bathroom. Once you have decided whether you are staying or not please use the call rope here to notify me."

As he was shutting the double doors Lareth looked over his shoulder "oh and detectives? Please do not wander without me as a guide." Eyes glittering with something other worldly Lareth smirked "you aren't quite one of us yet and I'm sure Lian would be upset if her guests were … disturbed."

With that said Lareth shut the doors with a final click while the three men stared at the doors with slight shock in their eyes.

Finally breaking the silence Yusuke murmured "I don't know about you guys but I'd say if he didn't want us to be disturbed then he's doing a pretty damn bad job of that…"

* * *

And that ladies and gentle men is a 16 page chapter. +sighs+ I'm sorry for not updating for so long and I will give no excuses except real life has intruded, computer crashes and lost files. But beyond that I hope to start updating regularly. +bows+ Thank you for reading and please leave a review with Constructive criticism. Thank you and until next time live well. 

Next time on "Reality as we know it": Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama make their decision on whether they will continue their lives in ignorance or step up to fight with Lian. How will their choice affect their lives and those that surround them? With demons closing in things begin to heat up. See you next time!


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